Hi all
I’ve just updated the handgun category. I know a few people are not fans of posting content there more or less publicly. And rightfully so.
The category has been upgraded to users with high trust levels - in this instance, members who are active over time.
Trust levels.
In short, this is an automatic grading system - the more you participate, the more forum software trusts you. This part is automatic. Once you get past some milestones (e.g. 100 posts, give some likes, receive some likes, over certain period of time and over certain consistency) - forum upgrades you from level 0 (brand new user) to Level 2 (casual contributor)…
Level 3 - you are a very trusted members and have access to extra categories (more on that here: Private categories).
Level 4 - old timer, you’ve been here for ever, you’ve seen some shit - members are able to moderate posts, edit posts, etc. Pretty much moderator/admin.
There are no popularity contests, there are no politics, it’s all based of your contribution to the forum.
Obviously, admins can manually override these settings. Either globally or per category. However, we’ve never had the reason to do so, since the forum was established. Participate and it will happen. That said, any members who need or want access to this category - please reach out and let us know. There’s a bit of knowledge in there for those who need it - or join the forum and contribute 
In case you are interested how the forum assigns trust levels: